William Oberndorf is a hedge fund manager in California apparently with LOTS of money. Enough that he sent $100,000 to Alabama in 2014 and $85,000 in 2018 to be used to support political candidates. He does this by giving to something called “The Alabama Federation for Children.”

I have written about this group before. As best I can determine, they are a “federation” in name only. For example, if they have a board of directors I can’t find them. They do have web site which makes it clear they strongly support the Alabama Accountability Act, school choice, vouchers, etc. We know they are affiliated with the American Federation for Children which was created by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. (Which tells you about all you really know.)

They obviously have a good relationship with Oberndorf since he is their only contributor for the 2018 election cycle. Though the Californian is a staunch Republican and has given more than $1 million to the California Republican Party, he did not support Donald Trump for President and told the New York Times he planned to vote for Hillary Clinton.

According to Secretary of State figures, here is who has benefited from the Oberndorf money (listed in order of how much they received.)

Republican Debby Wood, running to replace Issac Whorton in House Distrct 38 in east Alabama. $19,792

Andrew Sorrell, Republican, running for House District 3 in northwest Alabama. $15,404